What Even is Despair?
by TheSemasin
Summary: [SYOC CLOSED] "All I can remember is a playback of two girls...both speaking of two different despairs." A crew of amnesiac high schoolers trapped in a desolate city with only one way out: kill their classmates. And on top of that, a traitor and a demon lurk in the shadows. How are 16 new students supposed to survive, when they can't even fathom despair itself?
1. Pro-Prologue

**What Even is Despair?**

**:.:.:**

**Pro-Prologue**

**:.:.:**

**[CAUTION: SPOILERS FOR BOTH GAMES UP AHEAD. READ AT OWN RISK]**

* * *

"Come one, come all, and see the next unfortunate spectacle of despair lay out before your very eyes! It's a wonderful thing, really."

A bear of monochrome stood on the top of a podium, looking down at an empty crowd of seats in an equally empty school building. The school building, if you're wondering, is the very school that held 15 victims to despair only a year earlier, and was abandoned by the 6 that were able to catch hope. About 6 months after, the other students of Class 77 found themselves in a similar situation, but only 5 made it to a version of this school. The school that started everything.

This was Hope's Peak Academy.

Leaving room for a fake applause, the bear continued.

"My, my, what a crowd! I'm so glad to see that _everyone's SOOOOO excited!_"

He did a dance for no one, and spun around on the podium a few times before stopping. And by stopping, I mean _stopping. _He first only hung his head downward, but suddenly, his whole body came to a collapse and fell onto the surface of the podium. And for that small moment, everything was quiet.

"Well, I suppose that's a wrap!"

Out of the shadows walked a girl, a seemly flawless girl at that. This girl was Junko Enoshima, well known for her title as Super High School Level Fashion Girl. In simple terms, she was the best model there was. However, that wasn't the only title she was well known for, if you catch my drift.

"It's important that this is perfect, Monokuma," she cooed, picking up the bear like her own child. there was something almost robotic about her movements, and the unnatural flash of red that punctured her crystal eyes practically delivered the message of something being wrong. Something completely unnatural about this Enoshima.

"We haven't done this in 6 months, and it did leave _quite_ the impression last time." A chuckle was the first part of this laugh, followed very closely by a rough and sharp cackle.

"I mean, we have an actual threat this time. Komaeda was no threat, just plain _adorable _with his silly notions of hope, and that Nanami girl practically threw herself into the fire! But now we have someone willing to stop us."

The smile - no, smirk - that rested on her face faltered into a frown. The frown screamed despair, in the sense that it was indicating for her to give up, to let in, to _not make this happen_.

Not that she'd listen anyway.

"I have plans, and I won't let that stupid girl ruin them! Next thing I know she'll be killing all of them. What will I do then? There's no fun in that!"

As if waiting for an answer, she stayed silent and walked around slowly on the stage. Her strut never failed as she glanced outward and then back at the doll, before coming up with an idea.

"That's a great idea, Monokuma! A way to suck her in, and to keep her from destroying _my _game! Who care's if it's failed before!"

And with that, the strawberry blonde mastermind threw her arms up, letting the limp doll fly up and almost hit the ceiling, before smashing its face on the ground next to her as it came down.

"I mean, everyone knows..."

A despairingly sadistic smirk worked its way onto her face.

"_3rd time's a charm~_"

* * *

**Enrolled Students of the 79th Class of Hope's Peak Academy**

1. Hikaru Soriyu - Super High School Level Tactician

2. Emi Sasaki - Super High School Level Researcher

3. Mason Horden - Super High School Level Confectioner

4. Sabitsuki Saotome - Super High School Level Luck

5. Nikiyo Nakasone - Super High School Level Translator

6. Daisuke Kagegami - Super High School Level Sharpshoot Hunter

7. Izumi Akamine - Super High School Level Mathematician

8. Soma Amos - Super High School Level Doctor

9. Teiko Matsui - Super High School Level Massage Therapist

10. Alicia Davis - Super High School Level ?

11. Sebastian Regulus Aston - Super High School Level Soccer Player

12. Yoshihiro Kouzuki - Super High School Level Pawnbroker

13. Emi Akiyama - Super High School Level DJ

14. Hyosuke Kimura - Super High School Level Charisma

15. Carl Wells - Super High School Level Stuffed Animal Maker

16. Atsushi Hagiwara - Super High School Level Archer

17. Kerry Young - Super High School Level Imagination **[ CAUTION: CURRENTLY MISSING, BE AWARE THAT SUBJECT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS]**

* * *

**Thanks to all of you who submitted! I hope you all enjoy the story as much as I will!**

**You can call it by it's acronym, since I always do that with Chapter Titles. It's WEID, which can be pronounced Weed or Wade.**

**I hope you guys enjoy!**


	2. Prologue

**What Even is Despair?**

**:.:.:**

**Prologue**

**:.:.:**

* * *

Almost everything is blank.

I can barely remember anything.

* * *

There I was, standing outside of Hope's Peak Academy. We, that year's class, had difficulties, however. And although I can't actually recall the details, it had ended the world that very year.

To my knowledge, that was about two years ago. All my memories about that year are completely blank; however, something tells me I don't actually want to remember what has been lost.

In fact, I can barely remember what happened after that. The last thing I can recall before waking up here is hazy, and the details are sketchy, but it's all I have. Maybe it's a clue on how to leave.

I was walking down a dark corridor in a building that I faintly recognized. Said corridor was painted in a dim, despairing grey. The walls were covered in pictures of students, and from what I could read, all were students of Hope's Peak Academy from the 1st Class to the 79th: our class. Gazing at these, I walked – no, limped – down the hall at an increasingly sluggish pace. The hall, as long as the trip seemed to be, wasn't that long a hall, and I was at my destination in not necessarily the shortest amount of time, but not that long either. The location? A room with a cracked door numbered 837.

Inside, the voices of two people melted together in a pot of aggravation, as it was clearly obvious the duo was in the middle of an intense fight.

"Dear, can't you see?" said the first voice in almost an informative tone. "I've already won~" The sweet slur in her voice proved to me that she was most definitely trying to trick the other girl. The first girl was actually the one facing the door, and switched personalities at a rapid pace. Her skin was a pale cream and practically flawless. There wasn't a blemish or an unsightly thing anywhere to be seen on her, and everything seemed so incredibly unnatural about her; as if someone had photoshopped her in real life. Her movements and how she reacted was unnatural as well. Despite her intense personality changes, the girl seemed rather unnatural in her reactions as well. Getting back to the descriptions, she had crystal eyes, but there was clearly a red pupil instead of a black one. Her hair was a vibrant strawberry blonde that, like everything else, looked extremely fake. Although neat in the front, the parts in pigtails were insane. Although that depended on the swing of her mood, but nonetheless. These pigtails were held up with bear pins, one black and one white. This matched the grand scheme of her outfit: black, white, and red. Her shirt was rather long. It was a deep black with white tips that was cut so that her polka-dotted bra would show. Peeking out from under said shirt was a red plaid miniskirt, and her black boots were laced in red. A half black and half white tie was around the edge of her shirt with a red symbol of a sort in the middle, and to top it off, a red bow attached like a pin to her shirt. A sadistic smirk made its way to her face, as a fake nail-clad hand allowed her cheek to rest in it.

The other girl whose back was facing the door didn't stutter, move, or even flinch in fear or frustration. From what I could see, this girl stood upright, glaring at the other.

"'Won' is a COMPLETE overstatement, Junko," she began. "Haven't you heard? Your little 'despair junkies' have already been freed. In fact, I heard a few of them woke up. And that sounds like winning? Give up."

From what I could see of the second girl, she was MUCH shorter than the first. She was also a million times paler and more natural looking, as a light array of freckles were clearly visible on this girl's face. How do I put it…this girl was much less 'perfect'. She wore a violet off-the-shoulder dress that pleaded reached to about her knees. Around the waist was a darker violet strip that, although part of the dress itself, seemed like a belt. A black valleyed strip of cloth hugged above the sleeves, acting as a crease. She had dark violet tights and gloves to match her dress and white, semi-heeled boots. Her eyes were a piercing yellow, and to top it all off, dark chocolate hair that reached about her bustular area.

The smile on Junko's face reformed from genuine to completely false. A hand went over her face as a death glare shot its way toward the other girl.

"Yes," she hissed. "I know. But I'm not giving up. Izuru Kamakura is not the only trick I have up my sleeve. _I have plans_."

The brunette shifted her weight onto her left foot. An amused smile crept its way onto her face.

"Oh?" Her tone was almost mocking. "Oh dear Queen of Despair, what may these plans be?"

Junko flicked her hands behind her back as a moe appearance took over.

"Well, Kerry-Chan, I suppose you should ask the others! I'm sure they could explain the despair…ya'know...if they could remember! It's a war, Kerry-Chan, and I'm prepared to make it SU-GO-I!"

Kerry's smirk faded almost instantly, as her arms unfolded themselves.

"You wouldn't. You couldn't."

Junko's moe giggles switched into despairing cackles in a quick transition.

"So, Kerry-Chan, why don't you BOW THE _FUCK _DOWN, EH? YOU'VE ALREADY LOST, AND FOR THAT, YOU SHOULD DESPAIR!"

Kerry gritted her teeth.

"Oh Junko…you have yet to even taste true despair. What it actually is, and not the fake shit you believe it to be. I know what it is. I lived through it. And for that, I'll gladly shove it IN YOUR FUCKING FACE. IF IT'S A WAR YOU WANT,"

Kerry paced over, her face only inches apart from the other.

"_It's a war you'll get_."

* * *

My name is Hikaru Soriyu, and that is all I can remember of the past two years.

I suppose other formailities are in order as well. As mentioned before, Hikaru Soriyu, and I'd prefer Soriyu, since Hikaru is too close to Hikari, and that's a girl's name. Had the world not ended, I'd have been a junior this year in Hope's Peak Academy. And my talent for said school? I'm the best tactician since Odysseus. And since I learnt how to play, I am undefeated at chess.

To give you a good idea of what I look like…I have dark brown hair that's pretty messy with an ahoge in the back. Currently, as I sit here and monologue this, I am wearing an open blue-grey jacket with a white tank underneath. My pants are a tannish colour, and my shoes are red slip-ons. My eyes are a bright emerald green, and although I'm not super pale, I'm not that tan either.

I just recently woke up in a classroom that I can't recognize. I was lying on a desk in the middle of said classroom with the lights at a dim. Currently, however, I am lying on the floor, contemplating my next move. All the windows are bolted shut, so I can't escape from there. The only exit seemed to be the door, but I have no idea if that's locked or not, and if it's not, would there be someone on the other side? Nothing in this classroom seemed safe, but I decided it was my only choice. However, just as I sat myself us, a voice echoed through the speakers. It was a woman's voice, for sure, and he knew said voice from somewhere.

"All students, please meet in the Main Hall for a speech from your headmaster."

Students? Headmaster?

For one, it was obvious to me now that I wasn't the only one here. But why would I be a student? I couldn't remember registering for a school, especially one with bolted windows at that.

Nonetheless, since there were really no other options, I decided to listen to the voice and head out to the Main Hall. Not that I really knew where I was going in the first place, but I made an effort at least. Stepping out into the hallway made the transition from dim light to even dimmer. The lights in the hallway were almost like street lamps. I could faintly make out the colour of the hallway as I walked along. It was a wine-red colour, as opposed to the white floors below me. To be honest, the flooring was the only thing giving off light, even if it was just reflected. Most of the walls were empty, although the occasional door was here and there. And even though I tried them all, none of them opened.

It felt like forever, walking in this corridor. There were a few corners here and there that I had to turn, but nothing to reward with. The only thing I could hear were the rhythmic pats of my feet hitting the ground. The sound was booming, and I know that my footsteps are soft.

From what I could tell, it had been at least a good ten minutes before I turned a final corner. This corner lead to a hallway that lead to the other side of the school. From what I could tell, this was the exit. It had to be, because it lead out to the other parts of the building. That means that it had to be the Main Hall, so that's where everyone and all my answers had to be. A small, contented smile appeared on my face, and I picked up my pace as I walked to the door.

But then I suddenly heard another set of footsteps.

I stopped and looked to the left. The other pair had stopped as well, and now we two humans stood looking at each other, no words being said.

She was shorter than me, but still an average height. Her hair made up for that however; it was a poofy blonde ponytail that was unnaturally large. She had on a school uniform: a white shirt with an orange bow and a matching orange skirt. Her socks were black and reached her knees. The footsteps she'd made were rather loud because she had small heels on her orange mary-janes. Black rimmed circular glasses rested on her very pale face, and they helped project the vision of her yellow eyes. A slight array of freckles rested on her face, but they were barely visible.

Both of us had similar thoughts on our mind, or that's what I inferred. Our gazes never faltered, and that similar idea had to be only this;

Who was this person?

She was the one to break the awkward silence. Her initial freezing broke, and she smiled sweetly at me.

"I suppose you're headed into the Main Hall, too?"

Although I expected a softer voice, I hadn't expected this. Her voice was smaller and softer than anything I had ever heard before, and on top of that, it had a deliciously sweet tone to it. I was unsure of what to say, being surprised for once by a mere girl, but I eventually came up with a good answer.

"Yeah, I am. And I can guess that's what you're here for as well?"

The girl simply nodded, and she walked over to my side.

"Y-you don't mind if I join you on the walk in, right?"

"Not at all, miss."

She turned pink at the last part, and stood next to me as I opened the door. And I had expected something spectacular to be on the other side.

All that stood before me were 17 seats, three of which were empty.

Whether it be on top of the desk or in the seat, all 14 of the other students were there. Some chatted quietly, others didn't say a word, and the occasional few were totally out going. But a mutual silence happened as the duo entered the room.

"Um," I said awkwardly. "Hi there…? I'm Hikaru Soriyu, Soriyu is fine."

**HIKARU SORIYU – SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL TACTITIAN**

A couple murmurs of hello left the audience, before one person spoke up.

"Well, since this gentleman spoke up, I think it's about time we all had proper introductions," a raven-haired boy said. A thick British accent could be heard woven into his voice.

"Sebastian Regulas Aston," he said, taking a bow. "Regulas is fine."

**SEBASTIAN REGULAS ASTON – SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SOCCER PLAYER**

Sebastian was very well built, to say the least. It looked almost as if he played his spot non-stop, but it was quite obvious that he had stopped, and I think I'm getting off topic here. Anyway, Regulas had jet-black hair with silver highlights here and there. Said hair wasn't completely visible however, as he had a green bandana wrapped around his head. He had pale skin (not as pale as the girl he walked in with, I made note of) and dark brown eyes to pop. Although it was obvious he had a light brown hoodie on, he wore a dark violet jacket with rolled up sleeves over it. He wore long brown pants and dark violet boots. A shirt of the same colour could be seen barely peeping out from his hoodie. A warm smile was on his face; almost that of a polite butler.

"Ah, I got caught up in the moment outside, and I guess I never introduced myself to you," the girl mumbled, a light blush dusting over her cheeks. Her look was crestfallen, and I couldn't help but feel bad for her.

"But I guess since everyone's here now, I'll introduce myself. My name is Sabitsuki Saotome. Uh, Sabi is fine if you want…"

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL LUCK (GOOD LUCK, LUCKY STUDENT) – SABISTUKI SAOTOME**

Sabi twiddled her fingers as her foot shifted uncomfortably on its toes. She looked down, obviously embarrassed by all this focus on her.

"Hey, cutie, don't be shy," a red-head in the back said. "It's fine, you're a sweetheart~"

Sabi, although flattered, got even more shy and red. The boy chuckled and I couldn't help but sigh. He must've caught that, because he stepped up after that.

"Hyosuke Kimura, at your service," he cooed, bowing and winking at Sabi. Sabi then probably redder than his hair.

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL CHARISMA – HYOSUKE KIMURA**

Kimura had, if I hadn't mentioned before, red hair. His red hair wasn't very long, and came down in small layers. It almost reminded me of my own hair, except a little less "out there" and no ahoge. He had messy bangs as well, but they didn't falter his very bright orange eyes. He was tan, and freckles littered his face, much like Sabi. He wore a black button down shirt with a picture of a navy red-eyed dragon in the right corner. Speaking of red, that was the colour of his tie, and his pants were a bright white. His shoes were black dress shoes, and he gave the appearance of a flirt.

"Kimura is fine, but you, lovely lady, can call me Hyosuke~" He grasped Sabi's hand as she stuttered in her words on a response.

"I-I…u-hh…"

Before any of us could notice, a girl came up and gave him a nice whack on the head. Very impressive, if you ask me.

"God, you are _such _a pervert. Why the hell can't you stop flirting?" Her violet eyes locked his, and a glare-off began. It lasted for a minute or two of just straight glaring, before Kimura let out a harrumph and sat down. Pleased, the business woman-like girl came up and introduced herself.

"Alicia Davis, my pleasure."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ? – ALICIA DAVIS**

Alicia wore her raven hair in messy, yet strangely well done up-do, and let it come down in waves. As mentioned before, she had violet eyes, which really stood out on her pale skin. She wore a brown jacket with an orange tank underneath, and a brown pencil skirt to match the jacket. She had orange tights as well, and dark brown pumps. They weren't huge, but they weren't tiny either. In her hair was also a thin white of headband made of what seemed to be just sequins.

"As for my title…" she said, contemplating how to explain it.

"I'll tell you when I feel like it."

"How dismissive of you, Alicia," a boy with longer, messier hair than mine said.

Alicia raised a brow. "And you're one to talk, Teiko?"

"Hm, I suppose you have a point. Teiko Matsui. Now if you need me, I'll be somewhere else."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL MASSAGE THERAPIST – TEIKO MATSUI**

Teiko was a very to-the-point person, it seemed. His hair was a deep black that came down to his mid neck in a messy mop, although did represent his laid-back and calm persona. His eyes were, like his hair, a very deep colour, only red instead of black. He wore a black hoodie with a dragon on the back that was only short sleeved and black jeans to match. He had converse shoes and some kind of red headphones as well. He walked away after that, going to talk to the other girl with headphones.

He pointed over to our general direction, and the bubbly girl looked over and nodded with a smile. Not too long after, she skipped her way over to Sabi and I, a bright and somewhat contagious smile on her face. Sabi lit up in her presence, and I half smiled as well.

"Hi there guys! My name is Emi Akiyama! I like computers, music, making music, and all forms of electronics! Oh, and I also love when people are happy! Because if one person's happy, then everyone else can become happy as well! And everything good happens if you stay positive, you know."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL DJ – EMI AKIYAMA**

"Also, Akiyama is fine, but my stage name is good too! It's DJ Aki~!"

Akiyama, I noted, had light, curly brown hair. Although short, she managed to keep it in quite the high ponytail. Her eyes were as bright as her smile, a nice, happy blue colour. Akiyama had a white, open hoodie that covered a happy blue t-shirt with a pair of black headphones around her neck. The wire for those lead into her left pocket. A black headphone design was also on her shirt as well. She had plain washout blue jeans and black and blue high-top sneakers to finish it off.

"It's nice to meet you, Akiyama!" Sabi said. I had a good feeling that they would most likely end up friends.

"You too Sabi! Anyway, I have tons of other people to meet, so I'll catch up with you guys later!" And with that, Akiyama skipped away to talk to Alicia.

"Quite the energetic one, isn't she?" Regulus inquired, followed by nodding from Sabi and I.

"What do you mean the door won't open?!"

"Hush, we don't need to start a ruckus. The door's just locked is all. I can find another bathroom, it's not a huge deal."

"I'm not worried about _your _fuckin' problems! We're _locked in _jackass, what if they're gonna kill us?!"

The three of us turned to see two boys having an argument. Or, really more of one boy flailing and the other trying to calm him down. The three of us made our way over, with Regulas being the first to speak up about it.

"Kill? Come now, that's highly unlikely."

Both males turned to face us, and the one who was screaming folded his arms and faced away.

"Tch."

The other male beside him just sighed, giving a small face-palm in response to the distaste of the situation. A false smile made its way onto his face, and he looked at the three of us.

"I apologize for disturbing you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Soma Amos."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL DOCTOR – SOMA AMOS**

Soma stood towering before Sabi and I, although not really Regulas. He had dark hair (like so many people here, I kept note of) that was rather short. Only one of his eyes were showing, as the other was covered by aforementioned hair. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt that was covered by a long white lab coat, and wore plain jeans and black sneakers. Like black hair, sneakers seemed to be another favorable article of clothing. A dark blue scarf was tied around his neck, covering his neck and the bottom half of his face. His expression was somber, but at the same time aggravated; from what I could tell, he really didn't want to be here.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Soma."

The other boy spoke up at this point. "Did you know his last name is his first name backwards?"

He seemed enthusiastic about that, but seeing the lack of real appreciation for it on our faces (take Sabi, who didn't realize such), he backed off. Soma face-palmed again, letting out a more verbal sigh than the last.

"Yes, Daisuke, we all know."

"Right. Anyway, I'm Daisuke Kagegami."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SHARPSHOOT HUNTER – DAISUKE KAGEGAMI**

Kagegami had his hands shoved in the pockets of his black jeans. A checkerboard belt was wrapped around said jeans, and like most things around here, was black and white. I'd taken the notice of all this monochrome as soon as I'd stepped out of the classroom, though I didn't realize it'd be this much. Anyway, Kagegami was tan, but could still be classified as fair-skinned. Freckles littered his face, probably from being out hunting. He had lose, short reddish-brown hair that almost completely covered his right eye. Said eyes were hazel. His shirt torso was green, although the sleeves were a dark blue. He wore a long, black sleeveless hoodie as well, with white zippers. His feet sported black shoes with neon blue laces. His hands were wrapped in black fingerless gloves, and an earring hung from his left ear. At this point, he seemed almost shy, so I marked him down as a tsundere.

"So," Regulas said, breaking the silence. "What seems to be the problem here?"

Kagegami pointed to the door. "Fucker won't open."

Regulas smiled kindly. "I can help you with that."

Turning to face his former traveling companions, Sabi and I, he smiled again.

"You guys can keep introducing yourselves. I'll help these guys, 'kay?"

I nodded, and Sabi politely agreed.

"I'll catch up with you guys later!"

With that, Sabi and I turned to talk to some of the other students. Well, we were planning to do that, but Akiyama came running up to us soon after.

"You guys! You guys haaaave to come and introduce yourselves, slowpokes! Come onnnnn!"

She tugged my arm in the direction of where some girls stood and talked. I hadn't considered a strong grip on her, but I was so desperately wrong. It made sense though, considering one of her talents was turning records. However, as she pulled me away, she accidentally bumped into three guys in a discussion.

"Oops! Sorry, Carl! Ehehe…"

The boy named Carl smiled politely and shook his head. "Akinyan, it's not a problem. Now, who are these nice people?"

Akiyama smiled her bright smile and quickly stepped aside so we could be seen in a better view.

"This is Hikaru Soriyu and this is Sabitsuki Saotome, but she prefers Sabi!"

Carl smiled. "It's nice to meet you two. I'm Carl Wells."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL STUFFED ANIMAL MAKER – CARL WELLS**

Carl was incredibly short; I wasn't even sure that I was talking to a high schooler. However, I didn't think any less of him for it. Carl had red hair that was messy but put together. The hair stopped at about his chin, and came off as incredibly fluffy. He had dark, yet bright, green eyes. By his nose are some freckles, and purple rimmed glasses sat neatly on his face. Small stars were visible on the edges of said glasses. On his head laid a black knit cap, with surprising pink cat ears attached to said cap. He wore a rather complicated shirt, a black and pink diagonal two-toned one. His right sleeve was held up by an equally two-toned band, except this time black and white. The band started at his cuff and was affixed loosely at the collar of his shirt so he didn't choke. His jeans were black and followed the same uplifting pattern as his shirt, except with the left leg and attached to a brown belt. His shoes were pink and black with neon green laces.

Standing next to him was another boy. He had his hands in his pockets and seemed to not be paying much attention. Carl nudged him lightly with his elbow.

"C'mon, Atsunyan, introduce yourself!"

The boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at Carl before switching to Akiyama, Sabi and I.

"Ah, I'm so soooorry! I must've spaced out. I'm Atsushi Hagiwara, it's great to meet you!"

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ARCHER – ATSUSHI HAGIWARA**

Atsushi was far taller than Carl. He had tan skin and dark, spikey brown hair that wasn't long at all and parted to one side. He had noticeably thick eyebrows and sharp green eyes to match. He had an unbuttoned white dress shirt over a light green polo shirt on his top half, and grey jeans with mountain boots on the bottom. Atsushi was much louder than I had initially thought he'd be, and reminded me a lot of Akiyama.

The third one glanced over, his face mainly hidden by his fedora. A smirk quickly rushed to his face, and an overall sly look befell upon him.

"Yoshihiro Kouzuki. Yo is fine."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL PAWNBROKER – YOSHIHIRO KOUZUKI**

Yo was a mysterious guy. He had short black hair that was neatly slicked. His eyes were a malicious yellow, and they rested on a pale face. He wore a black suit that was decorated with grey lines to outline it. The jacket was sharply cuffed, following the decorative pattern. He wore a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the top two with a loose blue tie wrapped around. He had a grey vest on top of that, sporting three black buttons to hold it together. His trousers were also black, and he had clean black dress shoes. As mentioned before, he had a black fedora with a white strip wrapping around the middle. Precious stones were locked on to said strip. After finishing his introduction, Yo shot a wink at Sabi, who turned red. Just as I was about to start making conversation, Akiyama blurted out.

"Listen guys, I'd love to stay here and chat, but I'm on an important mission that involves these two. So we can talk later, okay? Soooooorryyyyyy!"

Akiyama once again tugged me in the direction that she wanted us to go. Sabi, who was luckily free from Akiyama's grasp (maybe because of her talent?) waved and uttered a polite goodbye for the both of us before following along.

Before long, the three of us ended up in a group of girls, me being the only boy. As Akiyama introduced us, I saw Kimura smirking and giving me a thumbs up while laughing. I furrowed my brows and frowned, but couldn't stifle the laugh that came when Alicia hit him upside the head.

"Sooooooo! These wonderful people are Hikaru Soriyu and Sabitsuki Saotome. Sabi prefers, well, Sabi!"

The two girls politely waved and such, expressing kind greetings. I smiled and returned them, and Sabi just shyly smiled. The first girl spoke up, although the nervousness in her voice was rather prominent.

"U-um, it's nice to meet you guys! I'm I-Izumi A-akamine, and I h-hope we can become friends!"

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL MATHEMATICIAN – IZUMI AKAMINE**

Izumi stood about the same height as Sabi, an average one. Her hair was a light caramel, and headphones rested on top of her head. The headphones were silver and red. A smile was on her face, and her cerulean eyes were bright and innocent looking on her pale skin. She wore a silver hoodie with a pocket that bore the omega symbol over a white shirt with the sigma. Unlike the others, Izumi wore brown shorts instead of jeans, and had grey thigh socks with red slip-ons like mine. She shifted on her feet often, and it was obvious she was nervous. Sabi was the one to speak up, which hadn't actually happened that much before.

"Of course, Izumi!"

Izumi looked more hopeful and happier with Sabi's words. The two of them shared a mutual smile, until turning to speak to the other girl.

"U-uh, I'm Nikiyo N-nakasone. It's u-um, nice to u-uh, meet you!"

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL TRANSLATOR – NIKIYO NAKASONE**

Nikiyo was the same height as the other two. She was probably the tannest one there, and she had long dark brown hair to match. She had no bangs, and she had circular glasses to frame her brown eyes. Nikiyo was wearing a typical sailor fuku. It was mainly a seafoam green, but her socks and bow were both a soft pink. She wore dark brown slip-ons for shoes as well. Nikiyo seemed even more nervous than Izumi, and the latter gave her a reassuring pat on the back. I felt a little sad seeing how nervous they were.

"Uh, Nikiyo, you don't really have to be _that _nervous."

"A-ah! I-I'm sorry!" Nikiyo held her hands protectively over her head and ducked down. I decided that I was not going to say anything further, so I wouldn't discomfort her.

Sabi turned to me with a smile. "I'm sure it's just stress, Soriyu. I'll stay here and comfort them. You should talk to some of the others, alright?"

I nodded. She had a good point, I was a little too nervous to talk to them. I didn't want to offend them or make them uncomfortable, and Sabi and Akiyama were the kind of people that were able to easily help people calm down. I, however, was not.

At that point, I wasn't really sure if there was anyone left to talk to, but then I looked into the direction of the last two students, a male and a female. I decided I'd go and acquaint myself with them, and with that, headed over.

"Um, hi," I said as I reached their location. Both of them stopped their conversation to face me, the male ecstatic and the female showing a small sign of appreciation by politely smiling.

"Ah, you're Soriyu, right? It's nice to finally meet you! I'm Mason Horden!"

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL CONFECTIONER** **– MASON HORDEN**

Mason was about my height actually, maybe an inch or so shorter. He stood proudly, but had a kind-hearted smile. He had bright, poofy blonde hair that reached about his shoulders. A black hat with a buckle was placed on top of his hair, and it matched his outfit nicely. His eyes were a bright, happy blue with a bright, happy expression. He wore a smile nicely, and really allowed himself to give off a caring vibe. Mason wore a white chef's jacket with black buttons holding it together. He wore black shorts and had grey knee socks with black flats. And after he introduced himself, he was quick to introduce his friend as well.

"Oh gee, sweetie, you haven't said a word since Soriyu got here! Come on, introduce yourself!"

Mason pushed for the girl to say something, and she let out an awkward laugh. Turning to face me, she pushed up her glasses a tad and swung her arms behind her back.

"Uh, um. I-I'm Semi Esa- no, w-wait! I-I mean Amy Kisa- a-ahh! I-I, um… I'm s-sorry about this…" Emi coughed a little before she continued, earning her a slightly worried glance from yours truly.

"U-Um. Then. I'm Emi Sasaki. I-It's nice to meet you."

**SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL RESEARCHER – EMI SASAKI**

Emi's face had a calmer tone to it; it wasn't necessarily that she was scared to speak, it's just she didn't feel the need to, and was a little caught off guard by the sudden requirement. This was even further expressed by her hazel eyes, solemn, not somber. Her hair was a dark auburn that reached to about her shoulders, although I wasn't sure, it was tied back in a low ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a black woolen sweater with a knee-length skirt to match. Black leggings covered her legs, and all the remaining parts on her legs were covered by her black knee-length boots. There was also a brown leather belt around her skirt. She wore a white lab coat to finish it off. Peculiarly, she had a water jug of sorts and a parasol attached to a wraparound strap. They were held up against her back. I decided it was best not to ask about that, and just continue with normal conversation.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Emi."

Emi averted her gaze from Mason and I, while Mason just chuckled. I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me and faintly smile. And just as conversation was about to ensue, a voice came out of nowhere. A voice so disturbingly enthusiastic in such a strange situation.

"1, 2, 3, testing testing! Okay, can everyone hear me? _Wonderful!_ Now, all students take your seats so I can take attendance!"

I figured at first that it had to be one of those annoyingly perky teachers. The ones that thought if they tried to act 'young' and 'hip' that they could earn everyone's respect. So with a sigh, I searched the desks for my seat. I hadn't noticed it before, but all the seats were labeled. I sat in the front and center, next to Akiyama and the only empty desk in the classroom. As everyone else took their seats, I decided to take a quick glance at the name.

_Kerry Young_

_'That's weird,'_ I thought to myself. _'I know I didn't meet anyone named Kerry.'_

And when everybody took their seats, the voice returned.

"Alright, super! Thanks for cooperating~! And with all this, it's obvious that this will all go smoothly!"

And with those words, a monochrome bear popped out from what seemed to be the top of the teacher's desk, doing a ballerina twirl dance thingy.

"My, my, what a crowd! I'm glad to see that _everyone's SOOOO excited!_"

And with this, the dancing continued, before Carl shot out from the back.

"You…you're a stuffed bear. How can you talk?! How can you…do…that?!"

The monochrome coloured bear stopped for a moment, as if contemplating how to answer the question.

"Hm…well I can tell you one thing. My mechanics are a complete and total secret. Zip, zip!"

Alicia sighed. "Come now, it's obvious someone's controlling you."

The bear jumped and glided over to Alicia's desk in the middle of the classroom.

"Well _darling_, it's much more complicated than that!" And as he jumped back to the teacher's desk, he laughed a strange laugh that almost felt like nails on a chalkboard. How could this even be real…?

Yo piped up in the back, or at least tried to. "But ho-"

"NO MORE QUESTIONS!" those words echoed throughout the classroom, and all the murmuring from the students silenced almost automatically, take Nikiyo's "I'M SORRY" from the back, though.

"Now that that's settled, it's time for me to take attendance!"

One by one, he started calling out our names, starting with Izumi Akamine and going down in alphabetical order, like most teachers do. And everyone, unsure of how to react normally to this situation, just responded with the typical 'here' or 'present'.

All except for one.

The bear called out the last name on the list, Kerry Young, and nobody answered. The entire room went silent, and the bear paused.

"She's…not here?"

Nobody said a word. The tone in his voice suddenly shifted into the calm before the rage type, and everyone was scared of what'd happen.

"That little BITCH! How _dare_ she! I bet she's scheming right now! Planning, and scheming. Scheming, and planning AGAINST ME!"

Nobody knew what he was talking about. Everyone wanted to, but nobody could ask. Until one brave soul decided that it was all or nothing, and was able to come out from the fear.

"U-um," Sabi started. "W-what exactly d-do you m-mean?"

The bear stayed silent. He then turned to face Sabi, and then answered solemnly.

"Oh, well y'know. Just the one main threat towards your whole existence."

"W-wha…?"

"Did I forget to mention that? Yeah, Miss Kerry Young is…well…an interesting girl. And right now, her plan is most likely to figure out how to kill you all."

Silence, not the same silence as before, but a cold, frigid, _deadly_ silence entered the room. Everyone was frozen in place. Someone planning to kill us? What the hell?!

That's when Mason piped up. "Well, uh, where exactly _is _here?"

Everyone turned to face Mason, and then soon after the bear. The bear just giggled again, lifting a paw to his mouth.

"Upupupu…well…"

And in one fluid motion, he knocked the walls of the room down. Everyone in the room gasped, and a few screamed.

:.:.:

"_Welcome to the Urban Life of Mutual Killing._"

:.:.:

* * *

**A/N: 13 Pages and 6258 words. This is most definitely the longest single chapter I have ever written ugh.**

**I forgot how much work describing appearances is. **

**Anyway, this is the general "meet the cast" section. The rules to mutual killing and some descriptions of the city will be added next time.**

**The name of the city, if you're wondering, is New Despair City.**

**Cliche and rather dumb, I know, but I have no other ideas for it.**

**Thanks for reading, and fav and review if you enjoyed!**

* * *

**STUDENTS REMAINING [17/17]**

**Hikaru Soriyu**

**Emi Sasaki**

**Mason Horden**

**Sabitsuki Saotome**

**Nikiyo Nakasone**

**Daisuke Kagegami**

**Izumi Akamine**

**Soma Amos**

**Teiko Matsui**

**Alicia Davis**

**Sebastian Regulas Aston**

**Yoshihiro Kouzuki**

**Emi Akiyama**

**Hyosuke Kimura**

**Carl Wells**

**Atsushi Hagiwara**

**Kerry Young**


	3. Prologue Part 2

**Responses to Reviews:**

**megav: Ah, I'm so glad you like it! Akiyama is definitely one of my favourites to write for.  
**

**SHSL Slacker: Yep, everyone always needs it. And she may be missing, but trust me, she's not far. And thanks, Junko's kinda hard to write for, so I'm glad that you like how she turned out! I love Emi a ton, by the way. She's gonna be so great in the trials, I already have her planned out uvu**

**VonJabey: YES DESCRIBING APPEARANCES WILL BE THE END OF ME UGGGHHH. And actually it's not :( When I thought of the city setting, the third game completely slipped my mind. Nice guess, though! It will tie in later, however.**

**Vortex Oblivion: Ah, thank you! Doing the two despairs isn't easy, but I'm working through. It'll be a little while before any real despair-fighting goes on, I'm sorry to say. Third trial. It's gonna be a blast.**

**Mastermind Enoshima Alicia: Ah, thank you so much! uwu**

**Shiroikage: Yeah the intro chapter was my downfall ugh. I'm so glad I got Daisuke right, I was particularly nervous with him. Thanks!**

**Sushii-Sushii: Well, the prologue ends this chapter, so actual development comes soon! Thanks!**

**The Shadow Meister: Thanks! There's a pretty drastic cast, so I'm glad you like it! And Regulas is so much fun to write for. Polite guys are the best, especially when they're sassy *wink face***

**Thanks for all the reviews on the Pro-Prologue (which I didn't answer, sorry!) and the Prologue! Enjoy the last part of the Prologue Trilogy!**

* * *

"Wha…" I started, unsure of how to necessarily react. He just…he knocked the walls down…! Everyone stood up almost simultaneously, except Alicia and Nikiyo. Alicia stayed where she was, and Nikiyo…yeah she hid under the table, screaming.

"What the hell is this?!" Soma said, marching towards the bear before grasping it in his hands. "What the fucking shit did you do?!"

"Rule number 1!" The bear began, as a random robotic arm came out from the floor. "_Never_ harm the headmaster."

The arm picked up Soma and sent him flying. He knocked into Carl's desk, causing his desk neighbor Nikiyo to scream even louder, before fainting. Sabi and Izumi gasped in horror, while Atsushi and Mason ran to help Soma. Yo rushed over and calmly shook Nikiyo awake, who was still mortified by a fucking human flying next to her. Alicia, however, continued to sit calmly.

"There are other rules as well, but I think it's better of you guys just get to know the place first. There's still A LOT we have to do!"

Emi was the first to speak up, while the murmurs from those helping Soma resounded quietly from the back.

"Um…f-for starters…who exactly _are_ you?"

The monochrome bear paused for a moment, before laughing awkwardly. "O-oh…did I forget to mention that? Woops."

The bear then twirled once again, before landing in a pose.

"I am Monokuma! And I'm the mayor of New Despair City. AKA, your new home!"

"Back up," Alicia said calmly, just as everyone else was going to pipe up. "Monokuma? The fuck kinda name is that? Who are you _really_?"

Another set of 'Upupu's were released as Monokuma focused…er..his attention on Alicia. She surprisingly was the calmest one among the group, only raising a brow at his laughter.

"I see you've already deduced the idea of a mastermind, Miss Davis," He began, pacing back and forth. "I figured you would, as a bear of my stature couldn't possibly be real! Well you're BEARY RIGHT! However, that is, as I said before, closed information. Zip. _Zip._"

Kimura shrugged. "I don't care anyway dude. I don't really think any of us do. I know I just want to leave here."

There were nods and mutters of agreement from the entire group, myself included. It seemed that, even if we weren't all that close, we were going to at least bond over this. The mere thought of this seemed to enrage Monokuma, and he, after a little bit of growling, finally yelled at us.

"YOU BASTARDS! IF YOU STAYED QUIET FOR MORE THAN ONE SECOND THEN _MAYBE_ I COULD TELL YOU HOW TO ESCAPE!"

Almost instantaneously, everyone stopped talking and started focusing their attention on him. Alicia even decided that enough was enough, and stood up from her seat. No one bothered to shift their view towards her, though.

"Thank you. Now, there is a way to leave this place. I mentioned it before, but it seems like you all were freaking out over the fact that I'm moving. Upupupu! How disbearing." Monokuma cleared his throat (?) before continuing.

"The life I'm giving to you now is a life of peace and harmony inside this city. You can all live together here, never have any problems. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Nobody said a word. Everyone's attention was directed to him, and their expressions stated "Hurry the fuck up."

Monokuma, if he could, most likely would've frowned. A sigh came, and he then continued.

"If you REALLY wanna get out, then you have to disrupt the peace. Put simply, you have to kill each other. Mutual killing. What did you think it meant?"

The entire room went freezing. Even Alicia lost her cool at this point. Nobody screamed, nobody cried, nobody said anything. Not even Nikiyo. Amongst the silence, everyone slowly looked around them. And that's when the gravity of the situation kicked in. I was surrounded by people who could kill me. Not to mention, there was another person who was practically GUARANTEED to kill me. The 15 other people in the room…one of them could be the last person I ever see. This place could be the last place I ever see…

I couldn't take it. I found myself backing up, and after thinking through, I figured the best decision would be to leave. So that's what I did. I took off running in a random direction, not looking back. And based on what I heard behind me, I wasn't the only one.

* * *

During my running, I actually took the time to investigate my surroundings. It was, like he had said, an urban place. The sky was grey and covered with clouds, while the only lights were those from the street lamps. There were buildings everywhere, and when I had finally slowed down to try a few, they were all locked. So with that, I switched from running to walking, and walked through another crosswalk. Not that it really mattered, there were no cars anywhere.

Suddenly, as I hadn't realized it immediately due to being lost in thought, I found myself face to face with a huge library. It looked like one of those things you'd see in Ancient Rome. I decided I needed a break from the chilly air, as I had felt it once I began to cool down from all the running, and headed inside. Or at least, I was about to, until I heard the sounds of footsteps headed in my direction. Shit…there was no way I was going to let anyone kill me. I picked up a rather fairly large rock that had been near the entrance and waited till they were close. And with that, I spun around and threw my arm back.

"EEK! Please don't kill me!"

And with that, I lowered my hand and dropped the rock. I paced over to the figure and after a moment of silence, cleared my throat.

"You can put your arms down now, Sabi-san."

Sabi, who had thrown her hands over her head in defense, looked up before awkwardly putting them back down.

"Right…sorry…"

"It's fine. Why'd you follow me?"

Sabi looked back up at me, but almost immediately averted her gaze again.

"Well, once you left, everyone scattered. The only ones left were me, Nikiyo-chan, Yo-kun, and Regulas-kun. Regulas-kun said that I should go find you while he stayed with the others, so I did."

I nodded. Regulas must've taken control of the situation, like the Captain of a team. I guess he's not the Ultimate Soccer Player for nothing.

"Alright. You can tag along with me, if you want. I was just going to check the library."

"The library!" With that, Sabi opened up an electronic device of some sort. "It's called The Fukawa Library." Then she had a sudden realization.

"Oh, that's right! Monokuma was giving out these once everyone left…Regulas-kun asked me to give you yours while he, Yo-kun, and Nikiyo-chan handed out the others. It's the student ID."

She handed it over, and I immediately opened it up. It stated my name, then my talent, and opened to a welcome screen. There were multiple apps on the screen. I decided to click the one labeled 'Report Card' and it opened to a bunch of blank files with 20 slots. 20 for convenience most likely, since there were only 17 students in the class. A pop-up screen filled the screen shortly after. And all it said was an ominous "Student Information in Library."

Well. It seemed inevitable at this point.

I motioned Sabi to follow me, and the two of walked up the stairway to the entrance, opening the large doors. Well, I opened the doors; Sabi stayed behind me. It was pitch black. I opened up my ID again to give off a little light, as it did appear to be abandoned, and carefully stepped forward.

Well, until Sabi turned on the light. A smarter move, in hindsight.

The library was bigger than it looked on the outside. There were four immense floors, each with what seemed to be 50 rows of just bookshelves. And each bookshelf looked as if it could hold 250 books on each side, for a total of 500 books per. I didn't know there were even that many books. Each section was labeled. The first two floors seemed to be non-fiction books, and the top two fiction. And then from there each section was divided into numerous sub-sections, and then divided by even more sub-sections.

Thankfully the Student Info section was right in front.

There were about 80 files in total, one for each class. This came off as strange, considering that there were only 79 classes. Maybe there was supposed to be an 80th class?

Or…there was?

I decided not to think too much into it, and went directly to the 79th class. Instead of books, like the rest of the building, each class had a yellow file folder with the year of their class. Then, the information was filed alphabetically. As soon as I opened it, Sabi went in the folder and found her file.

"Um…I'd rather you not see it…"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Sabi looked away, and shuffled akwardly. "It's just…I guess I'm a _little _self-conscious about it."

I sighed and nodded. I couldn't really fight that, she is who she is. Sabi smiled apologetically, before grabbing a piece of paper and a pen from the checkout desk.

Which, I forgot to mention, had a rather large balloon of a pink and white rabbit sitting there. It really didn't make much sense.

"But!" She said, returning with her newly obtained objects. "I think it wouldn't be so bad to give them to you, now that I'm thinking about it. I just don't want anyone else to see it. You get?"

It didn't make much sense why she wouldn't show me the report, but I decided to go along with it anyway. Looking at the Report Card again, there was a feature that could manually import information and a picture.

First I snapped the picture, naturally. She smiled for the picture, and I hate to admit it, but it was kind of cute. Something in my face was uncomfortably warm, and I decided not to mind it and focus on inputting the information.

Then, when that was finished, we looked through the others.

It had all the other students, starting with Izumi and going down the list. I was stunned by some of the measurements as I put them in, I hadn't realized the little things like Emi and I being the same height. I figured I was at least a _little _taller, but she had 173 cm as well. I felt a small dent in my pride at that. After getting through the other 15 students, including myself, we got the file I wanted to see the most: Kerry's.

As I'd suspected, I remembered Kerry from that one time she'd talked with that Junko chick that I could remember. Like for a brief moment during their conversation, she had an arrogant smirk on her face in the picture. She also had a black choker, something I hadn't noticed before. To my dismay, she held 170 cm, only 3 cm shorter than Emi and I. I felt my pride almost vanish.

It was interesting to find out her talent, however. I'd expected something drastic or dark, like Executioner, Fighter, or Despair. But she held probably one of the strangest titles I'd ever seen: Imagination. I didn't even know a title like that was possible.

I returned the file to the folder when I input the information. Sabi head upstairs at that point, saying she wanted to read a little, and I waved goodbye. I was going to follow her, too.

But unlike her, I saw two more files.

I almost froze. No, there couldn't be more students. We'd already been informed of one student lurking in the shadows, and now two more?

After contemplating on what to do with the information, I came to the conclusion of just simply keeping the information for myself. It'd be better to know about this information just in case, but at the same time, I wouldn't want the others to worry. I may not trust them, but what if this information could jeopardize life for someone? I couldn't have that.

Without looking, I took the two files and slid them in my inside coat pocket, so Sabi wouldn't see. Then, to add even more precaution, I skulked through the back of the non-fiction section, under the balcony. Even if Sabi looked down, there'd be no way she could see.

I rested against a wall, sliding down till I hit the floor. I took this time to uncover the files, and get a better look at them. They depicted a boy and a girl. I decided, since the girl looked friendlier, I'd do her first.

The girl had light brown hair that almost had a purplish tint to it. I remember seeing a girl from 78 with similar hair when Sabi looked through that file as I looked through ours. Unlike the other girl however, her eyes were a dull pink. A soft smile rested on her face.

She was actually among the youngest of us. The average age for a student this year would be 16; most enrolled at 14. However, she _was_ 14. As of this year. And as I read on, I realized why.

She was already dead.

It was sad, a girl I probably knew, but had no memory of, dead. One can tell a lot from a person's eyes, and as a Tactician, I specialize in reading them. And it was easy to see she was not a bad person. I felt pretty bad.

I decided to enter her data in the Report Card. It'd be easier than carrying the files with me everywhere, that's for sure.

And unlike her file folder, the Report Card stated her name. In my opinion, her name suited her nicely.

Her name was Nanami Fujisaki.

When I finished with Nanami, I put her file and its contents back in my pocket. That left me with the angry looking boy.

He was pretty much the polar opposite of Nanami. While she had light, short hair, he had blacker than black long hair. And while she had dull pink eyes, his were bright red. And where she sported a soft smile, he showed a stern frown. And to further add on that, he was among the oldest of the group, 18, as opposed to Nanami being the youngest. He shared this title with Kerry, Yo, Sabi and I.

Although, I will admit, it was weird finding out Sabi was 18. I figured 16 at most, considering she was flatter than the others, who ranged from 16 to 17.

Wait, shit that came out wrong. It was her height, she's super short. Well not Carl short, he's like 139 ish.

Yeah.

Back on track with the boy. He was not as tall as Regulas, who was around 183, but was only one inch shorter than Soma, at 180. That put him as third tallest in the group, or in the class really, and bumped me down to a lower place with Emi. What the fuck.

Anyway, after that I did the same as I did with Nanami, finished reading through and then put the information card in. And like Nanami, his name popped up once entered. And although I didn't really recognize it from anywhere in particular, the name still brought a chill to my spine.

His name is Izuru Kamukura. And unlike Nanami, he was still alive.

I reread through his files, or skimmed really, to see if I could find a little more about him, but all it said was that he was supposed to be in the 77th class, but for unknown reasons, was held back. That could mean a number of things, the majourity of which aren't good whatsoever. Great. Another problem.

I slipped his files in my pocket with Nanami's. Sighing, I got up, deciding to look around to find more information. Mainly of the other students, and what really got them into this school.

I walked back over to the Student Information table. Before looking, I decided to glance up and see how Sabi was doing. To my surprise, however, I didn't see her. I don't think she left, but she wasn't in my vision. Maybe she went to the back? Eh, whatever.

I picked up the book labeled 'Achievements'. It was HUGE, and probably contained all the information of all the students. I decided it was better to check it out now than never.

The first section was labeled Good Luck. This contained info on all the students with the Good Luck, as there was one chosen every year, although there was an ominous "except for one" at the end. I could only wonder. Skimming down, I found Sabi's name after the Class 78 representative, which was weird. I guess no other students from N – S were accepted? And even before that, there was another gap from K – N as well. But after briefly reading "Komaeda Nagito's" entry, I _really _wanted to skip to Sabi's. I was going to look at "Naegi Makoto's" entry as well, but again, "Komaeda Nagito." Nope.

* * *

_Saotome Sabitsuki: Saotome II is the daughter of Class 46's Lawyer, Saotome Kamiko (see the Class 46 directory for further info). Saotome II is known for her uncanny luck, even rivaling that of Komaeda Nagito (see above for further info), but not quite. Story has it that she entered the school after betting her mother that she did not need to be the same as her, but could get there based on her pure luck. It was said that only minutes after, she got a letter stating that she was accepted as Good Luck. It was also said that ever since she was young, she was able to have everything go her way, such as getting a father and a little sister by pure luck, and once in school was able to breeze by every test based on luck, and was even able to depict her sister getting accepted to Hope's Peak only a day before the decision was made._

* * *

That's pretty impressive. I was rather stunned that she was _that_ lucky, and a little sad that her sister wasn't able to make it into the school. We were the last class, after all.

After that, I flipped to the Class 79 section. As expected, it was at the back, and was the last of all the entries. It seemed like a section for 80 was made, but it was never finished.

* * *

_Akamine Izumi: Akamine was said to have studied extremely hard in Mathematics from a young age, growing up in a family that didn't wish to see the world as clearly as she. Math was a way to view the world from a clearer perspective, in her words. What got her into Hope's Peak was her World Record of solving an extremely complex math problem in under two minutes. After that, she was placed in Hope's Peak's 79th Class._

_Akiyama Emi: Akiyama was a great mixer from a young age. Once figuring out how to download and work on computers, she was able to mix the best songs, and was the official DJ for her grade school graduation. After that, she worked many jobs, before performing background in one of Maizono Sayaka's (see 78th Class) concerts. This earned her a place in the 79th Class._

_Amos Soma: Amos was known as a "miracle healer" from a young age by locals, but eventually known by this name everywhere. He healed even the emperor, who was dying of an incurable illness, in just 4 days. From there, he was accepted into the 79th Class._

_Aston, Sebastian Regulas: Aston grew up in a family of two rich aristocrats that provided him with everything he wanted. In two short years and a soccer court of his own, Aston very quickly attained a prodigy status, and joined majour leagues. He was accepted into Hope's Peak after breaking the record of "Most Scores in a Single Game"._

_Davis, Alicia: Classified information by the Davis Family in Oceddia._

_Fujisaki Nanami: Fujisaki and her older sibling would always play with electronics together as kids. While Chihiro grew to become an expert programmer, she was talented in the field of gaming after Chihiro built a gaming platform for her. She entered multiple competitions and won first place in all of them, earning her a place in Hope's Peak._

_Hagiwara Atsushi: Hagiwara is unfortunately not as good as other students academically. However, instead of staying down, he learnt archery, which he very quickly gained prodigy status in. He was accepted into Hope's Peak after perfecting his 200m shot, something he'd started since the age of 12._

_Horden, Mason: Horden was raised in a surrounding of perfect and amazing cuisine. Due to his father running a bakery all the time, he adopted and perfected his mother's talent instead: chocolate. After this, he extended his work to other forms of candy, greatly pleasing the locals. Eventually, he and his mother opened one of the most famous Confiseries in all of the world, thus rightfully earning his place in Hope's Peak._

_Kagegami Daisuke: Kagegami was brought to Africa as a young child in an attempt to show him the world of hunting. He caught on very quickly, and soon developed an amazing talent for it. After the death of his father, his mother brought him back to Japan and taught him more skills to enhance his Sharpshooting Skills, and encouraged him to enter the championship, in which he placed first overall. This gained him a spot in Hope's Peak._

_Kamukura Izuru: No info._

_Kimura Hyousuke: Not much is known about Kimura's past. He lived in an orphanage until he was about 10, after causing an incident that turned the orphanage upside-down. Kimura is known for his amazing ability to talk people into things, and was recognized after he flawlessly talked his way into a high-position job, even with a background of staying in a child detention center. What really pushed it was the uncertainty that the staff had, and when he came in and talked his way into a spot._

_Kouzuki Yoshihiro: Kouzuki grew up in a family tortured by debts. Because of this, Kouzuki eventually ended up getting a job as an apprentice to an influential Pawnbroker. He adopted the talents of his boss, and was able to become better than him. He eventually helped co-run the shop, and worked deals with hundreds of customers. Eventually, Principal Kirigiri came and worked a deal with him after hearing of his rep, and when everything went smoothly, offered him a spot. _

_Matsui Teiko: Matsui's interest in massages came from seeing a film that had one. So afterwards, he studied immensely on the human body, and began giving massages. Within weeks, he became incredibly popular in his homeland of South Korea. Once his mother was deported back to North Korea however, he moved to Japan and started a massaging business there. Eventually, he was accepted into Hope's Peak for his amazing skills._

_Nakasone Nikiyo: Nakasone, as a young girl, developed horrible anxiety. Everything for her was incredibly stressful. So in a way to relieve stress, she learnt the language Cornish. After that, she learnt both Catalan and Spanish. Realizing she had a knack for languages, she learnt a language a month staring from the age of 8. She now knows over half the world's languages, and was able to enter Hope's Peak because of the record she broke._

_Sasaki Emi: Sasaki was homeschooled as a child, and didn't leave the house much. However, for her 10th birthday, she was given a laptop. Once exposed to all the things on the internet (i.e. everything), she quickly memorized a variety of topics with ease, and was eager to learn more. Due to her love of learning things, she eventually became an apprentice at a research lab at around age 13 (although the lab burnt down two years later). Because of her astounding discoveries as a researcher, she discovered Hope's Peak not long before the burning. In an attempt to make an appeal in hopes to get in the next class, she researched and acquired the talents of Kimura Hyosuke. She researched all the good things the internet said about herself ad Kimura presented it, earning her a spot in Hope's Peak._

_Soriyu Hikaru: Ever since a child, Soriyu always had a good sense of right and wrong. The impulses in his gut were always spot on, and was able to avoid many problems in school. When his father taught him chess, he almost immediately became an expert at the game. He then played more strategy games and became an expert at all of them, and at age 14, was even asked to help direct an army, as the lead soldier, Ikusaba Mukuro (see Class 78 directory for futher info), was not very good at figuring out good battle strategies. This was supposed to go on for 4 years, but was cut short at the loss of the army in a strange accident. A year later, Hope's Peak accepted him._

_Wells, Carl: Wells, an American born in Japan, was alienated due to English being his parents' main language. Because of this, he took up sewing, and eventually found a talent in making stuffed toys, specifically animals. Balancing school work with his toys, he sold many online, and eventually became one of the biggest names in toy making, thus earning him a spot in Hope's Peak._

_Young, Kerry: Young grew up in an environment where everyone around her was talented, while her father was always out. There was always that hint of inferiority because of it, and as hard as she tried to get a talent, she couldn't find one. So she resorted to dreaming instead, and was always scolded for drifting off in class, but not sleeping. With years of half paying attention and half not, she eventually became so good at imagining that she could do it while focusing on multiple things at once, such as when talking she could be off in another land. This skill was put to the test in a designing contest for the school flag, where she easily displayed the most imaginative flag that she doodled down in less than a minute, saying she had the idea when the contest was announced. She also designed a special pod for those in a comatose state, keeping them healthier than they would be without it and giving them a better chance of waking up. She also was asked to come up with an idea for the Hope's Peak logo for the 79th class, and after responding in a day, was accepted._

* * *

It was really interesting reading about the other students. I hadn't realized their backstories would be so elaborate. I mean, mine wasn't that impressive, but the others were. I didn't realize how drastic most of their lives had been. More so than my own, of course. I put the book down after that. I wasn't going to waste more time reading the other 78 classes plus all the Good Luck students, well, at least not today. There was a whole city to explore, after all.

"Hey Sabi-san, I'm gonna go. Coming with?"

No answer. I guess she really did leave. I don't blame her; she probably tried to get my attention, but I was pretty wrapped up in this book. Maybe she found another exit and unintentionally left me here. Either way, I don't really mind.

After waiting a few moments for a response that never came, I decided it was best to head out. I spun on my heel and left the building, closing the doors carefully as I left. And with that, I was off again.

* * *

It had to be about 20 minutes of just walking before anything happened. I came across a number of buildings and areas, most of which were closed. There was a hospital, a skating rink, a movie theatre, and a bunch of other small buildings as well. The former 3 were locked, unfortunately, and the buildings were abandoned with nothing really useful inside. It's a shame.

Eventually though, I came across something of interest: a clothing store, named Enoshima Ecstasy. The name was lit up in bright red letters, so I figured that it was probably open. And as I walked toward it, I realized it definitely was. Happily, I entered the building.

"Atsushi-kun, hold this. I'm going to go change~!"

Alicia was the first voice I heard. She handed Atsushi her bag, and rushed off to the changing room before he could say anything.

"Oh…uh…okay?"

I laughed a bit as I walked towards him. "Girls will be girls!"

"Yeah," he said with a bit of a sigh.

"OOOOH! Is that Soriyu-chan I hear?!" Akiyama's voice could be heard from the Ibuki Mioda collection at the far end of the room. The sound of her steps rushing towards us was loud, and she automatically jumped when she saw me and glomped me.

"H-hey Akiyama-san…"

"I feel your pain bro, she got me too," I heard Atsushi whisper.

"SOOOO! I found some clothes that would look amazing on you in the Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu department! Come on, you HAVE to try them out! Right Alicia-chan?"

"Oh hell yes," said Alicia as she exited the changing room in a dancer-styled kimono. "They were business styled clothes, like someone from the Mafia. You're a pretty mafia-y type guy, yeah?"

"Well…" I said, uneasily. "I wouldn't say that…I'm just, I dunno…"

"Mysterious? Yeah, you come off as that type. Women tend to find that charming, ya know." Alicia finished with a wink, and I averted my gaze, flustered. Akiyama and Atsushi chuckled in response.

"I'll try 'em out eventually," I finally said. "I mean, it's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon."

And with that, the four of us stayed silent in a strange understanding. What I'd said had been what everyone understood, yet didn't want to hear. We weren't going anywhere fast.

The awkward silence was interrupted quickly however, as a medium styled car came racing in the room.

"WHAT THE SHIT," screamed Alicia as the four of us flung backwards. Well, three of us. Akiyama clung to Atsushi.

Monokuma poked his head out the window. "Meet in Centre Circle, bastards! I'm having trouble with the monitor system, so I came to tell you myself! Don't expect such blessings in the future, though!"

And with that, he rode out of the building like it was nothing. The four of us sat next to the elevator in a daze for a minute or so, before Alicia directed the group out. I was in charge of getting us there, since I naturally had the best sense of direction and was the best at reading the Student ID map.

* * *

We were the last four to gather at the circle. Everyone was chatting and waiting, and Monokuma seemed enraged when we got there.

"You're late!" He said, in a flustered tone. He had his hands on his hips and a scrunched up face. I was going to speak, but Alicia beat me to it.

"My apologies Monokuma," she said in a silky, yet obviously fake tone. "But Soriyu here can't read a map as well as we thought."

"H-hey! I can't help that we were far away!"

"Mhm. That's it."

Monokuma got a kick out of that, which is most likely what Alicia was going for, and dismissed us instantaneously. We joined the group behind us.

But it was easy to notice how spread out everyone was. The paranoia still reigned victorious, I suppose.

"Anyway, first on the agenda. There's been a small problem. One of our security cameras was completely destroyed at the farther end of town. It's safe to assume that Miss Young got to there before you all did. We were having trouble in the first place, since out mechanic is…well, caught up in something, but this didn't help."

Everyone stayed silent. I guess they thought this Kerry Young girl was just a joke. Well, the ones that hadn't reached the library yet, I suppose. Either way, I really don't think anyone was expecting it.

"Miss Saotome, you were out at that time. Did you see her?"

Sabi looked down. "S-sorry, but no. I do remember hearing something on my way to, well, here. It was before you found me. I-I heard a crash. It was really loud, and that's what caused me to g-go running."

"And that's when I found you," Yo said. "You should've mentioned that. We coulda got her together."

"S-sorry…" Sabi answered shyly.

"Moving on," Monokuma stated. "Your apartments have been decided. They're in the building over there."

Monokuma pointed to the tall building behind us. It was a couple stories high, and painted a maroonish colour. Nothing in this city was that bright, so I really wasn't expecting much else.

"There are 5 floors in total. 4 will be assigned to each floor, except the last floor. Only 2 of you will be there, with 2 empty rooms in total." Monokuma reviewed the cards, before looking up again.

"Or just one. Kerry's on that floor." He then muttered a barely audible "or supposed to be".

Everyone was handed a room key with their respective room number. Lucky me got 5A. Rooming along with an empty hallway in an abandoned city. Hooray.

Sabi, Mason, Carl and Soma got the first floor. Regulas, Atsushi, Alicia and Izumi got the second. Akiyama, Yo, Daisuke and Teiko got the third floor. The fourth floor consisted of Emi, Nikiyo and Kimura (the last room was a janitor's closet, Monokuma apologized for the slipup), and the fifth floor was mine. Kerry's too, but she's missing at the moment.

Next, Monokuma showed us the café next door. It was a small, quaint place, and Mason immediately offered to work there. Monokuma said he'd have to get up a little earlier than the others, but Mason didn't care. Next to the café was a small park. It had a couple benches and a picnic table. There was also a box filled with outdoorsy stuff. I'll probably go there tomorrow. We then gathered back at the Centre. The Centre was marked by a stone carving of Monokuma in a cliché pose. It served as a fountain, and numerous coins with Monokuma's head on the back were scattered on the bottom. He then cleared his throat once more, and spoke again.

"I'll now state some of the most important rules when it comes to your school life here! You already know Rule 1, but I'll say it again: No harm shall be inflicted upon the headmaster! You'll be severely punished as a result!" As those words were said, everyone cast a glance at Soma. He paid no mind and everyone eventually averted their gaze.

"Rule 2! You must sleep in an apartment! No exceptions! Speaking of which, Day Time starts around 7. Unless you have a job that requires you to be up early, it's recommended that you do not leave your apartment. The same goes with nighttime, which starts at 10. It's recommended you do not roam outside at night."

"Um…w-why? IMSORRY!" Nikiyo wailed. Her hands covered her face as she buckled inward slightly. Monokuma just kind of looked at her. Well, we all did. But even though we knew her, or at least reknew her for about two hours, I'm pretty sure everyone expected nothing less at this point.

"Duh. So you have a smaller chance of being killed. I figured that was obvious." Monokuma said with a shrug.

"S-sorry…" Nikiyo said, her hands now clasped together against her chest.

"Yeah. Anyway, I mentioned jobs before, so I'll go over them now. You each get 1000 Monocoins to start with. Monocoins can help you pay for things such as food, clothes, and other goods and services." A quick glance was shot at Alicia, but she had changed quickly before we left. "As time goes on, more places to spend your Monocoins on will open. However, people need to run these places. That's where jobs come in. Jobs are split up to about three hours per, giving people a chance to have more than one shift. To make it easy, all places are open from 9 – 6, depending. And depending on how long the shift is, or how hard the job is, you'll get paid in Monocoins respectively. Due to these times, Breakfast is at 9 - 12, Lunch at 12 - 3, and Dinner at 3 - 6. Depending on your shifts, you'll eat at different hours, like say, 3 – 4, or 10 – 11. Do you understand?"

Everyone nodded. It didn't seem bad at all, in fact, it almost seemed normal. And with that, I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought it was going to be insanity.

"Hiring will start tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll talk a little more about the rules, and then you'll be off! Okay. Now we'll start taking about the good stuff: murder."

And just like that, everyone went cold.

"The basic rule is: no killing more than two people. After that, it's pretty much free game! You can use whatever you choose to kill others. In fact, there's a weapon store, run by yours truly! In that store, you can buy a weapon without having to bother with a permit. It's super, actually! There'll also be a record book on who buys who, but no one is allowed to see until after the trial!"

"Wait, back up," Yo snapped quickly. "Trial? What's that about?"

"Oh, woops! My bad, you aren't supposed to find out about that till later," Monokuma giggled. "I was just testing your listening skills, since they were shit last time. I'll tell you about those when the time comes. Buh-bye!"

"Wait!"

But it was too late. Monokuma jumped behind the fountain and disappeared, leaving us to do what we pleased until 10, which according to the Student ID, was only a half an hour away. I decided to retire for the night; it's been a hell of a two hour time span.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading in. Shall we all meet for breakfast in the morning?"

No one said anything. The idea of murder still loomed over the group.

"Ugh. Listen, we're not gonna get anywhere if we keep sulking with this murder bullshit," I said harshly. "It's better if we learn to get along now, so there'll be less chance of us turning on each other. Friends stick together, right?"

"H-he ha-as a p-point," Izumi finally said. "I-I'll join-n you!"

"Count me in too, chap," Regulas said with a smile.

And soon, everyone agreed to breakfast. And suddenly, in the darkest depths of despair, there was a glimmer of hope. Not a large one, but a glimmer.

And with that, everyone entered in the apartment building. Not as scared strangers, but as friends.

* * *

We had to gather in the elevator in groups. I let everyone else go in before me, so I ended up riding it alone. It really didn't help my nerves. The ride to the fifth floor was shorter than I figured it'd be, which was good. And once it let out, I rushed to my door. There's no such thing as ghosts, Hikaru. There's no such thing as ghosts. And after fumbling with door, I entered as fast as I could before slamming it shut.

There's. No. Such. Thing. As. Ghosts. Hikaru.

After taking a few breaths to calm down, even though I'm not scared of ghosts in any way, I was able to see the room better. It was a beige colour, with a red rug that covered the entire floor. The couch was black, and there was a glass coffee table in front of it. On the other side was a small flat screen on a small shelf that had some DVDs and a safe. The key to the safe came with the room. The kitchen was the room on the left, and was a bright yellow with a happy light. It had a large fridge with a dishwasher next to it, a couple of drawers, and then the stove. The sink was in the middle. A small table for four rested in the center. On the right was my bedroom. It was small, well not super small, but smaller than the living room, and had a medium sized bed on the side. A night table stood in between it and the wall, and a dresser was at the other end. Next to the dresser was a walk-in closet. A final room, accessible through the kitchen, was the bathroom. Back in the living room, near the door, was a rack for people to put their coats, hats, and shoes on. Quite convenient. And to top it off, a giant window giving a perfect view of the small city. The perks of having a 5th floor apartment, I suppose. There were no floor lamps I noticed, but there was a small lamp in the bedroom, and a ceiling fan and lamp in the living room. I guess I have to buy that stuff with the Monocoins. Speaking of those, I found them in the safe.

After grabbing a cookie that happened to be in the pantry drawer in the kitchen, I decided to head to bed. There was a pair of pajamas in the dresser, which was nice, even though they were a cheap piece of shit. Sometime after that, I fell asleep.

* * *

HOLY FUCK HOLY SHIT HOLY DOUBLE FUCKING SHIT GHOSTS ARE REAL!

It had to be about 2 in the morning when I was woken up by a soft kicking next door. Which at first I thought _'Pfft probably one of the others' _but then I realized that I'm the only one on this floor and I'm pretty sure I soaked my pants.

So now I'm huddled up with my blanket, hugging one of my two pillows. The kicking's been light, and pretty consistent. But all the sudden it stopped.

And I heard a frustrated sigh. It was muffled, but still audible. But only to someone on the floor.

"God fucking damnit! Shit, I guess I do really need the key."

There was a soft tapping of a foot on the ground in place, when I realized that it was not a ghost, which made me feel a little better. But it was still something not worth being calm about.

_She was there. Kerry Young was right fucking there._

I could go and confront her and get some answers. And I was about to. But part of me, the same part that had convinced me she was a ghost, told me that there was a very high percentage that she had a weapon and wouldn't hesitate to kill me. And you know, in an abandoned apartment building in an abandoned city, there was really not a good feeling over all. So I decided that it was right, and I stayed glued to my bed.

"Oh well. I better get outta here before Enoshima finds me. Good thing the security's fucking busted, but for how long?"

I heard her saunter over in the direction of the elevator, aka my direction, and heard her stop.

Right. In front. Of my door.

And I was surprised I didn't shit my pants right there.

"Oh. Woops. Hope I didn't wake Soriyu up."

And with that, she walked over to the elevator, entering it immediately.

She must've looked at my name plate on the room. I'd forgotten it was there at first. It was kind of obnoxious that she didn't use an honorific though.

And after a moment of calming down, I found it in me to go to sleep.

_God Hikaru, you're such a fucking baby._

Shut up subconscious. I am an adult.

Dick head.

:.:.:

**PROLOGUE: END**

:.:.:

* * *

**Well, there it is! This chapter was kinda boring too, but I needed to set all the plot devices in and stuff. This chapter frames the trials really well. It also gives you the backstories in short detail, as no freetime events have happened yet. So it gives you a general feel.**

**I had to add stuff to the backstories to make it really tie in with the plot. I apologize if it isn't good and doesn't suit the character. If you need me to, I won't hesitate to change it.**

**And along with the characters, I needed to shape out protag! Funfact: The fear of ghosts was something I added last minute. He was supposed to be more kuudere than tsundere, but I'm getting a kick out of it.**

**If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the reviews or personally PM me! If you leave them in the reviews, I'll address them in the next chapter.**

**Also, I'm curious to know if you ship anyone yet. I know I do. *wonk***

**Thanks for reading, and make sure to favourite, follow, and review if you enjoyed!**

* * *

**STUDENTS REMAINING [17/17]**

**Hikaru Soriyu**

**Emi Sasaki**

**Mason Horden**

**Sabitsuki Saotome**

**Nikiyo Nakasone**

**Daisuke Kagegami**

**Izumi Akamine**

**Soma Amos**

**Teiko Matsui**

**Alicia Davis**

**Sebastian Regulas Aston**

**Yoshihiro Kouzuki**

**Emi Akiyama**

**Hyosuke Kimura**

**Carl Wells**

**Atsushi Hagiwara**

**Kerry Young**


	4. Chapter Point Five

**The next chapter is taking much longer than I thought it would. I was initially planning to release this with the next chapter, but not counting this, I'm at about 1.5 k words, give or take a couple hundred. I'm planning to make the next one at least 8k, and maybe move it along by either announcing the first motive in that Chapter or the beginning of the next. Most likely the latter. So, while you wait, here's a little thing I wrote to set the stage, I guess. It's not that special, but I needed to characterize Junko, since she's gonna be the big bad again. I'm going to try and get more into why she's despair and less of her being despair. It'll get better as the story goes along.**

* * *

**Answers to the reviews:**

Shadowplayer360: **goMEn I'M SORRY AAAUGH. And I'm going to be honest I really didn't think about greed, although it would've made sense. Woops. Anyway, thank you so much, and the chapter will definitely be released some time this month!**

SHSL Coder: **AHHHH THANK YOU u/w/u What I noticed about the majority is that none of them tend to include anything from the original, so when thinking about this plot, I made sure to incorporate Junko, and later the survivors and a couple not-so-survivors if you catch my drift *winkwink* And the jobs were a last minute decision so yes I'm glad they worked out well. Akiyama is so much fun to write for it's like Ibuki and Asahina all in one I love her u Thank youuuuuu **

SHSL Slacker: **YES WHO DOESN'T SHIPPING IS GREAT and I'm sure you'll see where I'm going with them eventually ;D And oh yes of course ghosts don't exist ahahahahha... And I think Sabi's a cutie too uvu Thanks!**

Vortex Oblivion: **oH THANK GOD DESCRIBING THINGS IS THE WORST I'm glad I did it correctly uwu and yesss all the pairings until I destroy them all hahahaAHAHAHAH I mean um thank you for all your nice compliments u/w/u**

VonJabey: **But dear VonJabey ghosts, especially to Dorky McSoriyu, are VERY despair-inducing. And yes please Carl in his suit is hysterical sounding I want to make that a thing now do I have permission to do so?/?**

The Shadow Meister: **As for Regulas' job, you'll find out next chapter ;D I actually already wrote his. It's kind of predictable though :/ Anyway, thank you so much! As I stated above, it was a last minute decision, so I'm glad that I did it right!**

Mastermind Enoshima Alicia: **Alicia's "WHAT THE SHIT-" was probably one of my favourite quotes of the entire chapter. So far, I've characterized them in a Celes/Hifumi relationship, but that's okay because I ship that. Shipping is an addiction and I must be stopped.**

Shiroikage: **Ooooh, I wonder which pairing that is? Do tell, I'm very interested to know (to know what I'll be destroying HAHAHAHAH) I mean *cough* anyway thank you! I guess I wanted to make a more calming environment, because when I looked at how all the murders will play out, it really wasn't that calming. And in comparison to some of the others in DR, I think they're pretty unique and messed up. And as for his job? I'll be honest, I haven't written it yet. I'm still unsure of which stores will be open this early in the game, so I need to make a list. Thanks!**

gingericus19: **I'm so flattered! Thank you u/w/u The present tense thing annoys me as well. First-person to me always seemed like an internal monologue of what just happened, even if the just was only a second prior. Again thank you soooo much! And as for that stuff, I tend to add the directness I think in a way to address Soriyu's personality. Initially, he was supposed to be this smooth and serious character, but it slowly during the second prologue chapter developed into a bizarre dorkiness. The addressing is a way to show which version he was during that moment. You do bring up a fair point however, and I'll try to do it less and less as time goes on. Same with the caps thing, except I think for me that's more of a decision between bolds and caps, and I tend to go with caps. Bold might work better though. And the names thing? I totally get that. I tried reading other SYOCs prior to writing this one and had no clue who I was reading about. Remembering names are the hardest. Again, thanks so much for the compliments and the help!**

* * *

CHAPTER .5: The Beginnings of Despair: START

:.:.:

"But Matsudaaaaaa-kuuuuunnnnn"

"No, Junko. I'm not testing the program on you."

He hadn't even bothered to face her. It didn't bother Junko that he said no, but mainly that he didn't face her.

He was such a dick sometimes. But it gave her an excuse.

"Fiiiiiiiineeeeeeee…" the blonde huffed, crossing her arms. "You're no fun."

"Never said I was."

Now with an idea that he defeated her, Junko waltzed through his lab without a problem. Knowing her heels would make noise however, she did her waltzing on her toes. Not in a sneaking manner, no she was too dignified for that. But she pretended that she was in those insane 9 inches that she'd wear so commonly. This was why hetero males should NOT design heels. It only increased the chances of foot surgery, not fucking sexiness. She was 169, need she be taller? With these ideas floating through her head, she added it onto the list of things she hated about the world. Oh god, she couldn't _wait_ to make them suffer. The Despair Queen then picked up the files from his machine. Thankfully, they'd already been stored in a handy little file folder. Oh how she _adored_ handy little file folders. She slipped the folder into her shirt, resting it against her chest.

He was such a sweetie sometimes.

She then backed up to fairly behind him, and acted all clueless and stuff. Her heels touched the ground as she walked, and she acted as if she was acting innocent. He didn't even have to turn around.

"Quit snooping."

She could barely hide her smirk, not that he was facing her. She raspberried at him, only for the door to open soon after.

"Yasuke. Lady Junko."

"Kamukura-kuuuuuuuun!" Junko swooped over him, engulfing him in a hug. Matsuda only grunted.

Kamukura was dressed in a suit. Well, it _would _be a suit, but his jacket wasn't on. It was instead draped on his shoulder until he let it on the coat rack. His long black hair was tied in a ponytail, due to the influence from someone that wasn't his enemy. Someone he supposed he could call a friend, but wasn't sure. Not that it mattered though, and only ended up boring him. He had mock glasses resting under his red eyes. Said eyes were half-lidded. Matsuda wasn't an interesting person at all. He'd rather Lady Junko kill him, but whatever.

"Got room for some documents?" Junko whispered quickly, before reaching in her shirt and pulling them out. Kamukura was unfazed by such a vulgar display, and simply took the folder and put it in his inward coat pocket on the rack.

"So Kamukura-kuuuuuuuun~" Junko sang in her mock voice. He never quite understood her quick personality, but he didn't really care.

"Why isn't _she_ with you?"

"We finished studying, so I left. She had to sleep anyway. Besides, you don't want her interfering." While he said studying, they rarely ever studied. It was more of planning to study, but ending up just talking about whatever. She would get flustered over the simplest things, and Kamukura would just watch her rant. You gain a lot of knowledge like that.

"Oh, that's right! Her meddling isn't wanted with our projects," Junko had forgotten that fact. She was the type of girl who wouldn't change her opinions easily, so she needs to fazed in with something startling. Something huge. It wouldn't get her anywhere if they'd just blatantly showed her despair. A lot of people were like that, actually, which is another reason why Junko hates people.

But then again, Junko's not much different.

She waltzed over to the donut box next to Matsuda and grabbed a chocolate one. Kamukura didn't follow, and Junko just assumed he didn't want one.

"So how's that Nanami girl," she started, mouth full of donut. "Have you asked her out yet?"

"I do not have interest in her or romance," Kamukura said blatantly. Even though he said that, his averted gaze and dusted cheeks clearly said differently.

"Mhm~"

"Yo, Enoshima," Matsuda called. He never used her last name unless shit was serious. Junko, curiously intrigued, turned to face the back of his chair.

"Yeah?"

"I just tested everything on here. That mechanic of yours is pretty handy."

"Pfft," she said with a small grin. "Tell me about it."

"Anyway, everything's fine. Based on what I've checked, there should be no problems with the report. So mind telling me exactly what you're going to do with said information?"

"I can tell you that," a stoic voice called from behind all three of them. Matsuda and Junko both turned around to face the source.

"Ah, Lady Mukuro. So you've finally spoken up."

"Hush, Kamukura-kun."

"SISSSYYYYYYY!"

"Hey Junko nee-chan."

"Get on with it already."

"Fine. Think about it, Matsuda-kun. It's a revolutionary discovery. We can talk to Kimura and Amos, you know them right? Good. We'll talk to them and have them present your data and research, slapping your name on it. Do you know how famous and helpful it could become? You could help trauma victims lose their unhappiness and see hope. It's a miracle, Matsuda-kun."

Junko was visibly horrified by the explanation, and was lightly twitching uncontrollably. Kamukura stayed silent, and Matsuda raised his eyebrow, before furrowing it again.

"I suppose you have a point."

"Precisely. We'll contact you when everything is in order. Right, nee-chan?"

"Yep! Great! That's exactly it!"

"Hmph. Fine. I'll be heading to bed then."

"Okie dokie! So will we. G'night, Matsuda-chan!" Junko laughed with a twinge of annoyance in her purposely pitched-up voice. Had it been to anyone else, it would've seemed threatening. But as she would say, she was trapped with a bunch of emotionless losers.

He did a two-fingered wave in response. With that, Junko grabbed her accomplices and rushed them out of the lab. When the door was shut firmly, she faced them.

"Hope? REALLY? You're glad I didn't fuckin' kill ya, ya huge disgrace of a fuckin' older sister!"

"My apologies Junko-nee. I am aware of my worthlessness."

"Oh don't get all fuckin' Komaeda on me. Kamukura, ya got those documents, 'ight?"

"Yes, Lady Junko. They're in my pocket."

"Fuckin' 'ey! I don't think that fuckin' moron expects a god damn thing! So let's get the party started, shall we? And plan to bring despair to the whole fuckin' world…"

Junko let out a hardy, yet evil laugh. Mukuro and Kamukura trailed behind, as she lead them to the darker depths of the school during the dead of night.

:.:.:

CHAPTER .5: The Beginnings of Despair: END

* * *

**STUDENTS REMAINING [17/17]**

**Hikaru Soriyu**

**Emi Sasaki**

**Mason Horden**

**Sabitsuki Saotome**

**Nikiyo Nakasone**

**Daisuke Kagegami**

**Izumi Akamine**

**Soma Amos**

**Teiko Matsui**

**Alicia Davis**

**Sebastian Regulas Aston**

**Yoshihiro Kouzuki**

**Emi Akiyama**

**Hyosuke Kimura**

**Carl Wells**

**Atsushi Hagiwara**

**Kerry Young**


End file.
